As the hijacked aircraft nears the 38th parallel, South Korean military fighter jets intercept the airliner and prepare to shoot it down before it enters North Korean airspace. Knowing that crossing the border will result in permanent capture, Tae-in executes a dangerous stunt maneuver: he forcibly pulls back on the yoke and rolls the Fokker F27 completely upside down.
The sudden inverted gravity throws Yong-dae off balance, sending his weapons and explosives sliding across the floor. Passengers and the undercover Sky Marshal attempt to overpower Yong-dae. In a final act of suicidal rage, Yong-dae pulls the safety pin on his remaining live hand grenade.
Seeing the live grenade bouncing toward the cabin passengers, Tae-in unbuckles himself, dives across the floor, and smothers the grenade with his own body. The explosion detonates directly beneath Tae-in, absorbing the blast, saving the passengers, but inflicting lethal internal trauma and blinding/injuring him severely.
Bleeding profusely and losing consciousness, Tae-in drags himself back into the co-pilot seat. Guided verbally by the half-blind Captain Gyu-sik, Tae-in manually crash-lands the severely damaged aircraft onto the sands of Chodo Beach in South Korea, just yards away from the border. All 55 passengers and crew survive the crash-landing. However, Tae-in succumbs to his catastrophic blast injuries moments after bringing the plane to a halt. His ultimate sacrifice redeems his past guilt, ensuring every single passenger returns safely to their families.